The Troggs - Archeology (1966 - 1976)

 

Once again, I am shocked that a classic record (or in this case, CD box set) in my collection has escaped my rantin'n'ravin', especially with a band as seminal as the Troggs! An absolute fave ever since "Wild Thing" and its power chords burst out of the AM radio in 1966, they had hit'after'hit for a number of years, from the sweetly melodic "With a Girl Like You" to the lascivious "I Can't Control Myself" and many others. This set does its best to collect their top numbers and it's pretty spot on!

Of course, 2 CD's can't encompass everything, but besides the aforementioned, we get primitive, primal grooves and heavy magic like "From Home", "I Want You" (made "famous" by the MC5's take on their Kick Out the Jams album), "The Raver", "Feels Like a Woman", "I Can Only Give You Everything", "Strange Movies" (the first song about porno films?), and "Evil Woman" along with poppier takes like "With a Girl Like You", "Our Love Will Still Be There", "Anyway That You Want Me", "Love Is All Around" and "Summertime" (where singer Reg Presley is practically drooling over the scantily clad women walking around). Obviously, with 52 cuts total, there are lots more amazing music here, as well!

There is a third, bonus disc included, with the legendary "Troggs Tapes", which had been passed around by collectors for years before this was released, as well as a fine booklet filled with pix'n'info. Of course, this was the 60's, so there's some filler throughout, with some truly goofy tunes ("The Yella In Me", "Hip Hip Hooray" and a few others), but overall, this can't be beat as a collection of powerhouse 60's rock'n'roll!